USDA announces cotton, rice schedules

The new farm bill required that loan rates be raised from 51.92 cents to 52 cents for the base grade and staple length of upland cotton and from 79.65 cents to 79.77 cents for ELS or Pima cotton over the six years of the legislation.

For rice, the farm bill set the base loan rate at $6.50 per hundredweight, but the rates farmers receive when they put rice in the CCC loan will vary according to class and state for farm-stored rice and by class in rice stored in commercial warehouses.

In Arkansas, for example, the 2002 loan rate for long grain rice in farm storage will be $6.63 per hundredweight (cwt); for medium grain, $6.12 per cwt; and for short grain, $6.12 per cwt.

In California, the rates will be $6.46 for long grain, $6.08 for medium grain and $6.12 for short grain; in Louisiana, $6.61, $6.04 and $6.12; in Mississippi, $6.56, $6.09 and $6.12; Missouri, $6.59, $6.09 and $6.12; and in Texas, $6.99, $5.84 and $6.12. The national average rates will be $6.66, $6.09 and $6.12.

For rice stored in commercial warehouses, the whole kernel milled rice loan rates for the 2002 crop are $10.66 per cwt for long grain and $9.66 for medium/short grain. The broken kernel rate for all classes is $5.33 per cwt.

The loan rate discounts for grades (per cwt of rough rice) lower than grade #2 are unchanged from those applicable to the 2001 crop. The discounts are $0.30 for grade #3, $0.60 for grade #4, $1.00 for grade #5, $2.00 for grade #6, and $5.50 for sample grade.

Discounts for smut content (per cwt of rough rice) are also unchanged at 5 cents for 0.1 to 1.0 percent smut; 10 cents for 1.1 to 2 percent smut; and 15 cents for 2.1 to 3 percent smut. Rice containing more than 3 percent smut is termed “smutty” and is eligible for loan only as low quality rice. Smutty rice is considered sample grade. Low quality rice is eligible for loan at 20 percent of the sample grade discounted loan value.

The national average rough rice loan rate is used to determine farm stored loan proceeds in states not listed above.

The above grade and quality factor discounts apply when rice is delivered to the Commodity Credit Corp. upon loan maturity. In addition, rice containing five or more kernels of stained or lightly stained rice in a 500 gram sample will be discounted $0.75 per cwt.